PETER WARE. Elegie und Totentanz. Urtext ACOMA EDITIONS

PETER WARE Elegie und Totentanz Piano Urtext ACOMA EDITIONS Box 606 Victoria Terrace PO Toronto Ontario CANADA MA W Web Site: http://www.acoma-co.com E-mail: Music@Acoma-Co.com

NOTES Commissioned by the Markham Music Festival for their 997 Festival Competition and Gala Concert, Elegie und Totetanz was premiered on May 7. 997 at the Gala Concert. The Elegie is a reflection on life immediately before death. The texture is sparse and at times monophonic, imparting a sacred and timeless quality similar to Gregorian chant. The Totentanz is a death dance. It is the dance of the body after death and is the last play of the muscles. In triple meter, the Totentanz is spun out of a perky repeated-note motive which pervades the piece. A motor rhythm sustains the energy until its majestic ending. Accidentals only apply to the octave in which they are written. Bar lines cancel all accidentals except for tied notes. Groups of Grace Notes are played before the beat if possible, unless there is a line indicating that they start with the bass. A single grace note is played on the beat except for tied grace notes which occur before. Staccati grace notes groups should be played staccatissimo. All grace notes should be played fast, while retaining tonal clarity. The Pedal may be used to enhance the sound, while always retaining clarity and playfulness. In sections where the pedal is indicated to be held down, variation in pedal depth may be used. Listen carefully to avoiding any abrupt or premature termination of rich sonorities sustaining from the preceding bars. Staccato is shown in two ways: by a dot, indicating a short staccato or by a wedge, and playful. indicating a heavier staccato. In the Totentanz, the slurred staccati are to be short = = = ISBN: -89-0-9 "Peter Ware is a composer of distinction and imagination. His compositions portray a strong, vivid and personal character." ---Krzysztof Penderecki PETER WARE (May, 9), like Charles Ives and Aaron Copland, has fashioned a melodic and harmonic vocabulary both distinctive and attractive, moving forward in a flowing contrapuntal style. His early works of the 970's are in an expressionistic language. In the orchestra work, TSANKAWI, the composer moves toward a lyric melodic style. During this period, his music was inspired by North American landscapes and often described as "painting in sound". PISCATAWAY for piano, is rooted in the environment around the Piscataway river in Virginia and suggests the motion of the river's current. KUSAWA for orchestra was inspired by a glacier lake in the Yukon. In the 980's, Ware's compositions grew increasingly romantic in character, often utilizing traditional devices and techniques, such as the fugato and cannons of ANCIENT EVENINGS for orchestra. Music was always an integral part of his life. Ware credits much of his musical interest to his early training in the church choir and the piano tutelage of Florence Robertson in Beethoven's lineage. He studied piano, cello, composition and conducting at Virginia Commonwealth University with summer classes in Lahr Germany, with famous cellist George Neikrug. At Yale University, he received his masters in music, studying with Krzysztof Penderecki, Allen Forte, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati and Toru Takemitsu. Peter Ware attracts numerous commissions. A commission grant winner from the Canada Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Ohio Arts Council, he is a member of the Canadian League of Composers and an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre. Information on the composer, and a catalogue of his works and recordings may be obtained through Acoma Company, P.O. Box 606 Victoria Terrace PO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MA W. Web Site http://www.peterware.com

leggiero 7 sonoro espressivo loco con fuoco 7 allargando riten. AE-09

Allegro scherzando Totentanz 6 8 riten. a tempo AE-09

8 loco 8-7 AE-09

Ware's pungent, poignant Nakina suite. -Los Angeles Times Romantic, lyrical and impressionistic all at once, the pieces have a beautiful natural pianism -Hamilton Spectator "Ware offers melodic content that is quite strong, Totentanz a fascinating score with a motoric rhythm that drives the work forward." -Fanfare "Ware's style, inspired by North America's landscape and Indian heritage, has been described as 'paintings in sound.' Chama is exactly that. It evoked exotic imagery which produced a blend both surreal and dramatic." - Kitchener Waterloo Record Night Rainbow finds the piano glistening as the clarinet and viola intone mysterious chants. Time is virtually suspended in Ware s pieces, which are mesmerizing in effect. -Akron Beacon Journal Chama began with a long lustrous flute solo, gradually growing more knotty. - New York Times Chama the Eagal and the Plumed Serpent Played properly this music will dazzle an audience and thrill the players. -Soundboard "It s (Chama the Eagal and the Plumed Serpent) slow unfolding course, in predominantly long violin phrases, has a cobra-like power to hypnotise." - Classical Guitar The Night Rainbow, a tremendously appealing work for clarinet, viola and piano... -Richmond News Leader PETER WARE: MUSIC FOR PIANO CHAMA "The Eagle and the Plumed Serpent" Violin or Flute and Piano '. Peter Ware This evocative work was inspired by the writings of Carlos Castaneda. In a variation form, it opens and closes with an extensive solo (vln/fl.) of meditative character. Exotic scales along with portamento convey a primitive, near eastern quality. Score & Part Violin and Piano AE $.98 ELEGIE UND TOTENTANZ Piano 9'. Peter Ware The Elegie, shifting between monophonic and polyphonic two part dialog, imparts a sacred quality similar to Gregorian chant. Accompaniment chords serve as quiet answers to the phrases. The Totentanz is a dance of the body after death and is the last play of the muscles. In moderate triple meter, Totentanz features staccato articulations that give it a perky and playful character. Opening with a rhythmic motive of four eighth notes, this motive is subsequently marked with an embellished grace note. and spun out in a Baroque fashion. This "single affection" pervades the entire fabric. Use of a motor rhythm sustains a great sense of momentum, until the ending where it winds down majestically. 6 p. AE09 $6.98 THE HIBISCUS ON THE WATER Piano 6' Peter Ware Inspired by the delicate flowers that grow so plentifully along the riverbanks of the Piscataway creek in Virginia as illustrated by the poem Hibiscus by Piscataway by Agnes Ware. This fantasy variation flows simply and unpretentiously with a lyrical melody and undulating accompaniment. The Hibiscus on the Water is published in the Conservatory of Canada's New Millennium Series. It is part of the grade nine piano requirements and is published in the Grade Nine New Millennium Piano Series by Waterloo Music. Score p. AE69 $.98 PISCATAWAY "On Looking Deeper into the Water" Piano solo ' Peter Ware Utilizing the extreme ranges of the piano in a virtuoso display, this piece is named after the Piscataway river in Virginia. Colourful flourishes contrast with long-breathed melodies; and although metered, the rhythm is perceived as free, symbolic of the river's rapid current and still eddies. As numerous sustained trills and tremolos shimmer on, dynamic balance and endurance are essential. Score p. AE8 $.98 THE NIGHT RAINBOW Clarinet, Viola and Piano ' Peter Ware A Fantasy-Variation, this piece was inspired by the moonbow at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky. Enchanting melodies of the clarinet and viola weave a texture of atmospheric awe, deliberate and unhurried. The piano, frozen in its higher register, contrasts with a crystallized tone, creating a sense of starkness and desolation. 0 p. Score & Parts AE7 $.98 LONDON STRING TRIO Violin, Cello and Piano ' Peter Ware The first movement uses multiple tempos and opens with a violin and piano duet. When the cello enters, much dialogue and jest ensues. The harmonic and melodic material is derived from the symmetrical chords of the violin and piano duet. This material is transformed and developed, at times humorously, throughout the movement. The second movement is an Elegy, with plaintive sigh motives, tremolos and grace notes to nothing. It is fluid and unhurried, weaving pure lyric poetry. The Totentanz follows with the cello starting the playful and sinister dance of death. The trio closes with a dramatic and driving finale. 7 p. score Violin, Cello and Piano AE8 $7.98 Visit Acoma Company s website to listen to MP excerpts from CDs and view sample scores. http://acoma-co.com